Since the first observation in 1991, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been the focus of considerable research (S. Iijima, “Helical microtubules of graphitic carbon,” Nature 354, 56 (1991)). Many investigators have reported the remarkable physical and mechanical properties of this new form of carbon. CNTs typically are 0.5-1.5 nm in diameter for single wall CNTs (SWNTs), 1-3 nm in diameter for double wall CNTs (DWNTs), and 5 nm to 100 nm in diameter for multi-wall CNTs (MWNTs). From unique electronic properties and a thermal conductivity higher than that of diamond to mechanical properties where the stiffness, strength and resilience exceeds that of any current material, CNTs offer tremendous opportunity for the development of fundamental new material systems. In particular, the exceptional mechanical properties of CNTs (E>1.0 TPa and tensile strength of 50 GPa) combined with their low density (1-2.0 g/cm3) make them attractive for the development of CNT-reinforced composite materials (Eric W. Wong, Paul E. Sheehan, Charles M. Lieber, “Nanobeam Mechanics: Elasticity, Strength, and Toughness of Nanorods and Nanotubes,” Science 277, 1971 (1997)). CNTs are the strongest material known on earth. Compared with MWNTs, SWNTs and DWNTs are even more promising as reinforcing materials for composites because of their higher surface area and higher aspect ratio. Table 1 lists surface areas and aspect ratios of SWNTs, DWNTs, and MWNTs.
TABLE 1SWNTsDWNTsMWNTsSurface area (m2/g)300-600300-40040-300Geometric aspect~10,000~5,000100~1000ratio (length/diameter)
A problem is that CNTs are usually pretty long (from several microns to over 100 μm) when they are grown, which makes it difficult for them to be penetrated into a matrix in fiber reinforced plastics (FRP) because the distance between the nearest fibers is so small. For instance, for a unidirectional carbon fiber or fabric reinforced epoxy composite, the content of the carbon fibers is around 60 percent by volume so that the gap between the nearest carbon fibers is around 1 micron (assuming the carbon fiber has a diameter of 7-8 μm with a density of around 1.75-1.80 g/cm3 and the epoxy matrix has a density of 1.2 g/cm3). The same is true for glass fibers and other types of fibers used to make composites. CNTs may reinforce the polymer resin to improve mechanical properties such as strength and modulus, however they cannot reinforce the FRP because they are filtered out by the fibers during the FRP preparation.